I have always ridden in leather western saddles, I have no experience in synthetic saddles. DH had radiation to his lower spine last year for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, he is not allowed to lift greater than 20 pounds for risk of compression fracture on his lower spine. He would not have someone saddle his horse for him every time, so he has been looking at the synthic saddles. We only pleasure/trail ride.
So here are my questions...
-Are they comfortable?
-Do they actually hold up?
-Do you have problems fitting your horse (we have quarter horses)?
-If you have one, would you by another one?

-Are they comfortable?Like any Saddle, some say yes, some say no
-Do they actually hold up?We had an Abetta that was 17 years old and only a few cuts in Cordura
-Do you have problems fitting your horse (we have quarter horses)?The Tree in the Saddle fits the Horse not the Cordura or Leather (in a leather saddle)
-If you have one, would you by another one?Yes
Of course if I did not mind the weight and had extra money, a leather saddle can last forever

Brands, I recommend: Fabtron, Abetta, Bighorn, Circle Y.... pretty much stay away from any other brands........

-Are they comfortable?
Yes, I like mine alot-Do they actually hold up?
Mine has held up quit well. Its been through water, mud and numerous trail ride with me.-Do you have problems fitting your horse (we have quarter horses)?
Not at all.-If you have one, would you by another one?
Absolutely!

I have a Wintec synthetic western saddle and it's held up very nicely for me and I love it!

-Are they comfortable?
I really like (and have always liked) how my wintec feels. Some people do and some people don't like them, it just depends on the saddle.

-Do they actually hold up?
Well.... I have the original wintec I bought that was a kids saddle and years later it's still functioning and in great condition. The one I have now has been put through the ringer (I'm REALLY hard on my saddles) and is in excellent condition. I can't stress enough how much it has survived. (Water, flipped over backwards in, thrown on the ground, trampled, the list can go on haha)

-Do you have problems fitting your horse (we have quarter horses)?
I've never had a problem. I buy them for my QH mare because I like the light weight on her back and it fits her to a T. I've used it on other QH's that were hard to fit and haven't had a problem (in some way I think the light weight helps with this). I've never put it on a horse and had the horse react out of pain to it unless it was a SEVERE misfit.

-If you have one, would you by another one?Yes! I love it for my mare, and for me due to the weight, and though I still love leather saddles, synthetics are my go to when the leather doesn't work out. (Me and my mom can't lift heavy saddles anymore either.)

Personally I think they're perfect for trail/pleasure riding because of their weight. We go on long trail rides and I've seen that the horses the same age with leather saddles on that are heavy tend to tucker out faster than my mare and her wintec! haha Plus you can beat the crap outta them and they still work like new.

We have a couple 10+ year old Wintec western saddles that still look great. Just about no maintenance. Many folks that use them say they find them more comfortable than leather. Both the semi and full QH bars fit our mares fine.Posted via Mobile Device

Our horse and I have quite a few limitations that required my finding a lighter saddle with different rigging options than I had had previously.

One caveat I would offer is that you not only need to consider the weight of the saddle (my new part leather and part synthetic High Horse saddle weighs 22 pounds), but also take into account the weight of your latigos and cinch and stirrups... That brought my entire setup up to almost 27 pounds.

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